BacterioFiles 222 - Cells Store Solar Sparks

The setup. Torella et al. 2015

This episode: Bacteria engineered to produce liquid fuel can eat carbon dioxide and hydrogen from solar-powered water-splitting!

Download Episode (11.2 MB, 12.25 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Some bugs need their vitamin-producing microbes, but kill them to harvest the vitamins

How specific gut microbes influence immune system (paper)

Bacteria used to produce various food ingredients

Bacteria could produce polyester beads that bind specific proteins (paper)

Rainforest bacteria could help plants grow better in poorer soil (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 221 - Co-culture Close Contact, Cats, and Cockerels

More related than some bacteria

This episode: More distantly related bacteria can help each other grow (and produce lots of hydrogen) by temporarily fusing with each other!

Download Episode (12.7 MB, 13.9 minutes)

Show notes:
News item/Journal Paper

Bacterial close contact

Note: I said C. acetobutylicum was used in WWII to make acetone for bombs, but it was actually World War I, used to make cordite, a replacement for gunpowder.

Other interesting stories:

Gut microbes can affect brain's defensive barrier in mice

Getting E. coli to produce higher amounts of nice-smelling biofuel compounds

Using fungi to control avocado-damaging pests

Bacterial proteins used to modify human cells' immune signaling (paper)

Worm gut bacteria could help degrade plastic waste

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook

This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 220 - Coliforms Cooperate by Conduit

Tubes!
Pande el al. 2015

This episode: Bacteria can connect to each other with tiny tubes to exchange nutrients!

Download Episode (10 MB, 10.9 minutes)

Show notes:
News item/News item 2/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

If society collapsed, we could eat microbes

Archaea could produce useful antibacterials too

Tree-killing diseases can help forests be more diverse

Animals have taken the genes bacteria use to poison each other

Viruses can sometimes survive frozen for centuries (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook

This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.